Sick and Tired!

This must be what's known as the "dog days" of winter. It's still too cold to be outside for very long. We're tired of being inside all the time. And everyone in our house is sick. Ahhhh - is spring here yet?

This is a picture of me and Sam goofing around with my pants. Potty training was going good there for awhile but I'm taking a few days off - in case you're interested.

We've started another science project. Despite our wishes for spring to come soon, we're learning how to make our own snow inside the house. This is my snowman - can you see his snow??? Sam Alert: Hey everyone from a sick (but still mostly happy) Sam!

Random Pictures plus

Big News from Mason & Sam!

It was another good week at our house. Everyone was busy as usual but we got to do some fun things around the house. Plus - read all the way to the end and you'll see what our big news is - we each have something fun to tell!

To follow up from last week's blog - YES, a guy can live on banana bread and chocolate milk alone! Here I am making another big loaf of 'nana bread. Yummy!

Here I am playing with some puzzles. I really do like learning new things - and I amaze mommy and daddy every day with the stuff I already know.
Mommy and I made a Valentine's craft project this week - a Valentine's mailbox. My friend Anzleigh gave me a big pile of Valentines this year.

This is me doing some more fishing. This is a book I found on the shelf - it makes me want warm weather to come so I can go fishing for real fish!

This is baby Sam playing with a left over balloon from daddy's birthday last week. We re-used it for Copper's birthday this week.

Here is Sam working on the computer with mommy. He sure likes to do everything everybody else does. No baby stuff for Sam!

This is Sam playing on his car. And this is me and daddy. We tried taking mommy out for a Valentine's dinner but all the restaraunts we wanted to go to were packed with people - so we ended up at IHOP for pancakes. It was yummy!

So finally - to our BIG news!

Sam: He is really starting to get moving. You can't really call it crawling yet, but more like a slow commando crawl. His other big news is that he has his top two teeth in now. That makes four teeth all together so far - this explains all the drooling he has been up to lately! Yea Samuel!

And Mason's big news - I am deep in the potty training routine and doing really, really well! Daddy promised me Thomas the Tank & Friends trains as I make progress with potty training. You can see I'm doing good. And these were only as of Saturday. As of today I have two other new trains to add to my collection. I'll bet I earn more tomorrow!!!

Things are good . . . .

It was another quiet but good week at our house. Not too much going on to report. Mom and dad are working and gone lots so I have to resort to making my own banana bread. Wonder if a guy can live only on banana bread and chocolate milk? I'll let you know in a week.Mason says this is a face that only a mother could love - but I think daddy loves me too!

Oh, by the way . . . Happy birthday daddy (earlier this week). He says he's 106 years old now. That's old!

We Love to Learn New Things!

This has been a week filled with learning some new things. With parents like ours, learning is something we probably better get used to!

I learned a new song on my drives home with mommy this week. It goes something like this . . . The other day, I met a bear . . a great big bear, a way up there . . . . and on and on! It is a great song and I ask mommy to play it whenever we're in the car now. So after we got home after learning the song for the first time, mommy and Sam and I played hide and seek with one of my bears - a polar bear to be exact! It was great fun!

Daddy showed a new game to me this week too - it is called "A, B, Seas". I get to go fishing and every fish I catch has a letter on it and then I decide what that letter is and match it to the ones on the playing board. I know 21 out of 26 letters without any help. I'm a great fisherman!

Here I am matching up my letters.

Most kids just have to go to time out when they misbehave . . . not us. Our parents tell us to "drop and give 'em ten".

Ok - not really. . . Just five!

Baby Samuel has been learning the steps toward crawling. He's got the pushing up part down pat!In fact, how many babies do you know that can do a one-legged push up? Here is a picture of Sam learning to stack his cups - or more accurately, learning to knock his cups down.

And here is a picture of the boys just hanging out.

Sam Alert:
Hi y'all! Attention all you cowgirls. Eat your hearts out. I'm not available for twenty one years - or if mom has her way, forty two years.

Random pictures from this week . . .

It was a quiet week. Here are some photos from this week - enjoy the captions.

Hi everybody - this smile's for you!

Now - smile for me!

Dad says I'm practicing to be a photographer for "Plumber's Weekly".

Nothing like soap mohawks! That's the only kind mom will allow.How did I get under here?

I guess the bigger question is How do I get out?
Hey - this is my cheese. Somebody get this little tadpole off me!
Little brother for sale - gently used!

So this is what they call "High Centered"?Sam Alert:

Whoa - have you ever seen the undercarriage of a dog. It's not pretty!

Don't tell Mason - I'm starting to take over his laundry duties!

A Working Vacation

What a fun week! I went on a working vacation with mommy last week. She had a week full of meetings in San Diego so . . . she and I packed up our stuff and flew in to Long Beach last Sunday. Aunt Jen Jen picked us up and we spent the day with family - Grandpa and Grandma G., Great Grandma G., and Uncle Michael and Aunt Jen Jen. We had a yummy dinner and then drove down to our hotel in San Diego.

We spent the week just hanging out at the hotel - watching movies, eating, swimming, and haunting the local Barnes & Noble bookstore. We went to Old Town for some yummy mexican food and basically just relaxed while mommy went to her meetings.Thursday was an early out day for mommy so we got to go to Sea World. Lots of fishes and other animals and a super great play area for kids just like me. We fed the seals and sea lions - they were noisy!The rides in the play area were fun - Flying Fish, a Twirling Eel, and Starfish that went around in circles. I couldn't get enough of the flying fish though! We even found a place with huge, soft building blocks that I could knock down.

We watched Shamu - he is HUGE! We sat in just the perfect spot so that we didn't get wet, but could still see him up close and personal.

Then after mommy's meetings were over on Friday, we drove back to Aunt Jen Jen's. On Saturday we went to Disneyland - my very first trip. I wanted to see Mickey and to ride the Autopia cars (over and over and over).

Mickey was the only character that I got to shake hands with - we saw lots of others - Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, Buzz Lightyear . . . but they were always on the move. Toon Town and Fantasyland were my favorites. Mommy says we didn't even come close to seeing all of Disneyland - perfect, new stuff for next time.

All in all, it was a great trip. Of course, I shared my cold with mommy and Aunt Jen Jen while we were there. But it was fun to spend time with family . . . .

. . . . and to play!This is me on the flight home. Mommy says it was the longest flight she has ever been on - it probably didn't help that I got sick . . . twice!

Thanks Aunt Jen Jen for hanging out with me!Sam Alert: Hey there - it was sure a quiet week around here with mommy and Mason gone. I wish I could have gone too, but I stayed home to keep daddy company. Mason brought me my very own Mickey Mouse and gave it to me with a big hug and kiss! I think he and mommy missed me and daddy!

A Quiet Week

It really has just been a simple, quiet week here. We're getting back in to the normal old routines - - work, play, sleep, and then doing it all over again the next day. Here we are hanging with our daddy.

Here I am playing - my most favorite things to play right now are trains and racing cars. Hope everyone has a good week!Sam Alert: Hi - my update for this week involves teeth . . . not that I have any new ones to report, but I'm teething like crazy! Fever, drooling, chin rash, overall grumpiness. Does this ever end?

Happy 8 month Birthday to Sam!!!

Haircuts and Hiking

We all had this last week off and so we sure tried to relax and enjoy ourselves. Mission accomplished!

Mommy had been letting my hair grow out so that she could take me to a real haircutting place to get a "cute little boy" haircut. (She usually just takes the clippers to my hair on her own - I haven't complained, yet.) So Monday we sat and waited and waited, and I finally got to sit in a fire engine and get a real haircut. Here it is - the "peer reviews" have been great - I like it and ask to have some gel put in it almost every morning. Mommy thinks she can duplicate the cut now that she has seen someone else do it. We'll see . . . .

"The BIG boys" went hiking on New Year's day. We went out to the desert to see if we could find any bunny rabbits. It was cold . . . but it was fun to just be outside hanging with the boys.

On orders from mommy, daddy kept trying to take lots of pictures - - this is what we thought of that!Here are all of us - Grandpa L, me, Uncle Noley, and daddy. Samuel had to stay home - maybe next year he can come with us. This is a picture of us having lunch inside the warm truck. Yum - PB & J sandwiches. Thanks Uncle Noley!This is a picture daddy took of "the back seat" on the way home. I think a little exercise and some fresh air always makes a guy tired! Right Grandpa?
And this is me and Uncle Noley - daddy is trying to tell me it's time to go home. I wasn't very happy about it!!!

And - speaking of "hiking" - this is a picture of me and mommy and Sam watching the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. Can you say - Go Utes! "Give us some sugar"!!! 13-0 - what a season!Sam Alert: Hey there - I know it looks like I didn't get to do very much this week, but I'm still just a little guy. I got in my naps and played with my toys and just enjoyed being held and toted around on errands. I also spent quite a bit of time watching football this week. Can you tell?